Antwerp's must-sees are mostly old stone that is still in use, not museum pieces behind glass. The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal dates from 1352 and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Antwerp City Hall, dating from 1564, shares that status. The riverside fortress of Het Steen goes back further still, to 1200. Between them sit parish churches that are each a protected monument, among them Carolus Borromeuskerk from 1621 and St. Paul's Church from 1517, as well as a neoclassical theatre opened in 1834 and a protected cinema, De Roma. Two picks take you out of town on purpose: Fort Breendonk in Willebroek, a military fort that served as a Nazi prison camp, and the Zimmertoren, a fortified clock tower in Lier. This list is for visitors who would rather spend an hour inside one remarkable building than ten minutes outside six. Wear comfortable shoes, check each official site before you set out, and leave room in the day for the sobering trip south.
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1 Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal
HandschoenmarktAntwerp's Roman-Catholic cathedral, dating from 1352 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal anchors the Handschoenmarkt and dates from 1352 by its Wikidata record. It is Antwerp's Roman-Catholic cathedral and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Skip the souvenir-stall circuit around the square and give the building an unhurried hour of its own, because a structure whose record starts in 1352 does not reward a quick glance from the doorway. Check opening times on the official site, dekathedraal.be, before you go, and come early before the day's crowds turn the visit into a queue. If you see only one thing on this list, make it this one.
Dates from 1352 · Part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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2 Antwerp City Hall
1 Grote MarktThe city hall of Antwerp, dating from 1564 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Antwerp City Hall stands on the Grote Markt, still doing its job as the city's working town hall rather than a building preserved past its purpose. The record dates it to 1564, and it forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Skip the guided-tour patter shouted across the square. Walk far enough back to take in the whole front, then move along its length slowly and read it the way you'd read a document, because a building that has been on the books since 1564 rewards that kind of attention. It carries its age without stooping. Come at dusk, when the crowd thins and the facade gets the square to itself.
Dates from 1564 · Part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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3 Het Steen
Steenplein 1A fortress dated to 1200, protected as a beschermd monument
Het Steen, the fortress at Steenplein 1, dates to 1200 according to Wikidata, which puts it ahead of almost everything else you will see in Antwerp. The building wears that age as bulk and stubbornness rather than ornament, and it holds protected status as a beschermd monument. Most visitors stop for a photograph and move on; we'd walk around the whole thing instead, paying attention to how it sits on the ground and what it means that a fortress has stood at this same address since 1200 while the city grew up and around it. It is blunt and grey, impossible to mistake for anything decorative, and that is its whole appeal.
Dates from 1200 · Beschermd monument
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4 Carolus Borromeuskerk
Hendrik Conscienceplein 12A church dating from 1621, protected as a beschermd monument
Late afternoon is when the Carolus Borromeuskerk shows best: the church sits at number 12 on Hendrik Conscienceplein, and when the light falls across the square it comes full on the facade. The church dates from 1621 and is protected as a beschermd monument. Locals favor a square like this one over the busier market squares, and we'd agree: find a bench, take a long look at the facade, then see the interior. A building from 1621 set back on a quiet square makes its case slowly, and it pays to give it the time. Check scba.be, the church's official site, for access details before you go.
Dates from 1621 · Beschermd monument
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5 Fort Breendonk
57B Brandstraat, Willebroek, 2830A military fort from 1906 that served as a Nazi prison camp
Set aside a separate half-day for Fort Breendonk at 57B Brandstraat in Willebroek, 2830, because this one is not in Antwerp itself. A military fort that served as a Nazi prison camp, it dates from 1906 and is now protected as a beschermd monument. Don't try to squeeze it between café stops and shopping. This place asks for your full attention and leaves you wanting a quiet ride home afterwards, and it is the heaviest stop on this list precisely because the past it preserves is not the kind a guidebook should tidy away.
Dates from 1906 · Beschermd monument
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6 St. Paul's Church
22 Sint-Paulusstraat, Antwerpen, 2000A Catholic church dating from 1517, protected as a beschermd monument
The street noise drops away the moment the door shuts behind you at St. Paul's Church, 22 Sint-Paulusstraat in the 2000 postal area. This is a Catholic church dating from 1517, protected as a beschermd monument. Skip the urge to tick off churches by the dozen: one unhurried visit to a parish church like this teaches you more about the city than a rushed lap of five. The parish posts its information on kerknet.be, so check there before you go. Sit down, let your eyes adjust, and stay longer than you planned.
Dates from 1517 · Beschermd monument
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7 Bourlaschouwburg
18 Komedieplaats, AntwerpenA neoclassical theatre opened in 1834
The Bourlaschouwburg at 18 Komedieplaats opened in 1834 and is protected as a beschermd monument, but the best way to experience it is to treat it as a theatre, not a facade. A night at a real performance beats the tourist-menu dinner shows sold on flyers. Book a seat, arrive early, and let the room do what a hall built in 1834 was meant to do: gather a city's audience under one roof. If you can't get a ticket, the exterior still rewards a slow walk past on your way somewhere else.
Dates from 1834 · Beschermd monument
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8 St. James' Church, Antwerp
Lange Nieuwstraat 73 2000 AntwerpenA church building dating from 1656, protected as a beschermd monument
Every footstep echoes inside St. James' Church at Lange Nieuwstraat 73 in 2000 Antwerpen. The building dates from 1656 and is protected as a beschermd monument. Antwerp locals tend to choose parish churches like this over the headline sights, and they have a point: you get room to stand still, take your time, and look, without being swept along by a tour group. A building that has stood on its street since 1656 deserves at least half an hour. Go mid-afternoon on a weekday, when the street outside is busy and the interior is not.
Dates from 1656 · Beschermd monument
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9 St. Andrew's Church, Antwerp
1 Waaistraat, AntwerpenA church building protected as a beschermd monument
Before walking to St. Andrew's Church at 1 Waaistraat, check its own site, sint-andrieskerk.be, for when the doors are open. It is a church building in Antwerp, protected as a beschermd monument. Don't rank a church by how often it shows up in other people's photos: this one is worth the detour because you are more likely to have the place to yourself. Find number 1 on Waaistraat, step in from the street, and give it the same attention you would give the cathedral. It rewards the visitor who came on purpose rather than the one who wandered in.
Beschermd monument
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10 Brabo Fountain
1 Grote MarktA fountain dating from 1887, protected as a beschermd monument
The Brabo Fountain at 1 Grote Markt is the fountain everyone ends up photographing whether they planned to or not. It dates from 1887 and is protected as a beschermd monument. Skip the terrace cafés with multilingual menus facing it. Stand at the fountain itself, watch the water spill, and walk all the way around, because it looks different from every side. A monument from 1887 in the middle of a working square is best seen early in the morning, before the crowds arrive and the photographers take over.
Dates from 1887 · Beschermd monument
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11 Zimmertoren
19 Zimmerplein, Lier, Antwerpen 2500A fortified clock tower in Lier, dating from 1425
The Zimmertoren is a fortified clock tower at 19 Zimmerplein in Lier, postcode 2500, that dates from 1425. Sort this out before you leave: it is in Lier, not in Antwerp itself, so treat it as a day trip on its own terms rather than a detour. The tower carries protected status as a beschermd monument, and zimmertoren.be is the official site for planning your visit. A tower that pairs fortification with timekeeping deserves more than a rushed pass-through on the way somewhere else, so we'd give it unhurried time. You will be glad you did.
Dates from 1425 · Beschermd monument
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12 De Roma
Appelstraat 14A cinema building protected as a beschermd monument
De Roma at Appelstraat 14 is a cinema with protected-monument status, beschermd monument, which puts it in a different category from most of what is on this list: this is a place where you sit down and watch something rather than walk through it. Forget the multiplexes. Attending a screening here lets you experience the building as it was meant to be used, not simply admired from the aisle. Check the programme on the official site, deroma.be, before you go, then head for number 14 with time to spare. We'd call it a fitting way to close a day spent mostly in churches and fortresses.
Beschermd monument
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